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Part 15: Fear of one's own weapons.

Nico didn't wake me up the previous morning, or the morning before that, so I stop by her house to make sure everything is going fine.: Why are you asking me? || I guess she's fine.-Sad: Ah... n-no specific reason. You know, I was with Ghosh until just moments ago. Well, I'm busy... if you don't have anything to say, please leave.Damn that Ghosh, first he spreads lies about me to Selfi, now he's already taking Nico away from me. Still, there are plenty of girls he hasn't even noticed yet.

: My favorite books are the novels written by Yuki Katsu. In his novels, I feel like I'm actually there! I just can't put them down! They're so good that... And then...
mumble, mumble. ........ ........ ........ ........ ........ ........
mumble, mumble, mumble. ........ ........ ........ ........ ........
mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble. ........ ........ ........ ........
mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble. ........ ........ ........
mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble. ........ ........
mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble. ........
mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble.
Oh, I'm sorry. I just get so carried away... I've been often told that much of what I say doesn't make any sense. Don't you find me kind of boring?No, this for real. She actually says "mumble" and uses that many ellipses. I counted.: No, it's quite interesting. || You're boring.Well, she's at least more interesting than Selfi.: Wow. I've never met anyone like you before. Well, I must be going.And then she leaves. She still hasn't told us her name yet. Anyway, let's go check on the bar lady.

I come back, and it's still completely empty, and the bar lady is passed out at the table.I don't believe the purpose of the bar was only to wait for the blue warrior. She enjoys just being with the warriors. She enjoys just being with the warriors. But I don't think she realizes that herself. Can you see if you can bring her smile back? I'm sure you'd be the best person to talk to her.We walk over and talk to her.zzzz....... I'm closing the bar down, get out of here. zzzzz.......

...what? I-is that really an answer you can make? Give me some Booze? Need I remind you that Mamoru is only fifteen years old, and this game was given an E rating in the states. And this was back in the days when games couldn't get away with saying shit. I've even noticed them getting away with the hidden cuss word before, Selfi will even call you a bastard if you don't rescue her from the pulunpa. And this game got a freaking E rating.zzz... What! Did you say you wanted some booze, Mamoru? Well that's a first! What can I get you.: Something strong. || Haven't got a clue.Let's go all the way with this. Lets see how bad this gets.Okay! Give him some.Excitedly the bartender rushes behind the bar to get back to work.Here you go, Mamoru.: Here I go. || Wait a moment.No, no, you wouldn't drink it so quickly... [!?!?!?]And then...Mamoru passes out right on the spot.Mamoru! What did you serve him?I only served him a glass of cola.He, he, what a fellow. You mean he's drunk on cola? Well, he's only had pure 100% natrual drinks. He, he, what a fellow, unbelievable... he's too cute...I cannot believe this, although it does explain how this game got away with an E rating now. Well kinda. There's more to it. Anyway, we end up back at home, lying down. Now sounds like a good time to go get some food.

Next up is the Special ($300). This is the thing that Ghosh orders every day.: This tempura uses seasonal vegetables and seafood. Since this city is located in the middle of a desert, this dish, where freshness of the ingredients is essential, is considered a delicacy here. The raw ingredients are covered in batter and then fried quickly at high temperatures, so you get tempura that is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Since the ingredients change daily, and it is not a heavy dish, you have people like Mr. Ghosh who will eat it every day. Koppe calls this dish his Special. I believe that shows he's most confident about this dish out of the whole menu.: Ha! For once you're ordering something decent.He says nothing more, to my luck. I've never had tempura before, likely because it's a seafood dish, something I've never had a taste for, but the description is pretty accurate of how its made. Once again, it's another food item I've never had, will likely never eat because I'm a picky eater, but I'm not going to have a massive craving for over the next couple days.Post-LP Note: A bit on tempura.

Drox posted:

Just sayin, tempura isn't seafood- it's a kind of breading. The best tempura I have ever had was at a local sushi place that makes tempura sweet potatoes.

Krysmphoenix posted:

To be fair I actually had no idea what tempura was, so I did a quick wikipedia search on it and briefly skimmed it. This one's mostly my stupidity/ignorance/whatever you want to call it.

Anyway, stopping of Cherrl's place reveals nothing new. She just talks about how glad she is we are her friend. Her lines are not going to change until we find that Healing herb. So it's time to go to the Tower.

Oh yeah, U2 ended up winning the name contest. Like most recently hatched monsters, it's just going to sit in the Hut.

This time I'm bringing Blue October and Kekfa both into the Tower this time. I can power level Kefka in the lower floors, and I'll need Blue October to get through the higher floors.

Floor 1

Partially because the first floor isn't 100% randomly generated (it has like five different designs), this time was even more boring than usual. I stayed to the end, which is worth noting because I quickly rushed through these floors. I'm not sure I stayed till the earthquakes most of the time this run.

Floor 2

Guess who? Selfi still. Dammit, I need those Medicinal herbs!: My brother talks about Mamoru all the time at home. I know so much about you. I heard you wet your pants in the tower.: That's not true. || That's right....what the...that's just...no...: Mamoru is such a mystery.She's been saying that "Mamoru is such a mystery" line a lot recently...anyway, moving on.

Floor 3 & 4

Once again, not much. I find a Troll Hammer and Sword. Good loot. Either way, not much happens on these floors, I take the elevator up both floors. EXP on these floors just wasn't worth the long time spent grinding.

Floor 5

This now gives me a total of a +20 bonus to Defense. Sweeeeet.

FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!
You can't see it, but behind Mamoru was an egg. I was running on the map, and when you are running, you do not stop to pick up objects, but you will still trigger traps. If you recall, this is not the first time a Bomb trap has screwed me over, but this time it cost me an egg.

Floor 6 & 7

Once again, not much. Go through the floors, find an useful loot and go to the elevator. Only thing worth mentioning is a Pita fruit, which I hold onto. I'm going for the Healing Herb all the way on floor 28.

Floor 8

I'll be honest, I tend to shy away from relying on status effects to win, but in this game, the AI can get pretty stupid when Blind, because they will always move in a straight line, and it lasts a lot longer than Sleep or Paralysis, meaning one shot can help me kill any enemy without getting hit back.

Floor 9

No screenshots, just simple.

Floor 10

I bring Kefka out, feeding it a new Shomura seed to boost it's defense. It'll need it later on.

Here we have our first egg. Well second, but that's because the bomb trap killed the other one.

I experiment with Heat Wave a little bit. The damage is not increasing as Kefka levels up, confirming my suspicions that only the spell level is calculated for damage with Mixture Magic, not the monsters level or ATK.

Floor 11

Oh thank you RNG. You truly are a kind and benevolent deity.

Floor 12

Well, that didn't last long, although while Kefka was out for these floors, I was grinding and waiting for Earthquakes. I really need another Cyclone egg. I actually have a Pita fruit (or two) by this point, but I hold on to it. I get the feeling I'll need him later.

Floor 13

I think this is my first time showing off the Ice Rock orb. It creates this obstacle which monsters have higher Aggro for, so it's good for defensive purposes. The Krakens are tearing me up because the Training wand is technically metallic. Flame and Blizzard sword still trigger's the Kraken's ability, though I haven't experimented with Heat Wave at melee range.

So to help deal with the Kraken problem, Blue October comes out. They are promptly destroyed.

Floor 14 & 15

Not much happened. Had a slight scare when Blue October became confused, but I just stepped away and everything was fine. Also I stepped on a warp trap...and it warped me three squares away, in the same exact room. Awesome.
Oh, another Blue sand, another bonus to the Diamond shield. Seriously, where are the Red sands?

Floor 16

I was playing around with the game at this point. You can pick up coins from a square away like any normal item, but they'll only enter your special "coin pouch" if you step on them. This leads to a funny case where you can have the coins in your backpack. Why would you do this? To throw them at Barongs, of course! Coins are items too, you know!

Speaking of Barongs, I actually got some decent loot from them this time. First, to note, is this Dark Sword. Dark Swords are...unusual. They are just a really powerful sword, but some will miss unusually often. These Dark Swords also sell for higher amounts, but this "hidden curse" can supposedly be removed by a de-curse scroll, along with any normal curses on the sword. Regardless, I'm selling it. I've got a Trained wand.

Eer....two Trained Wands. I..I...I don't know what to say at this point. Blessed be the name of the Random Number God.
And cue another Blue Sand. Diamond Shield +15 now.

Floor 17

Not much here to mention. Couple of Pickets stole items, but they were quickly returned. Snow Shoot really helps for situations like these, despite the elemental disadvantage. I don't lose anything important.

Floor 18

I hit a Slow Trap and Blue October hit a Blind Trap simultaneously. Oh, this won't be that much of a problem--

OW! BLUE OCTOBER! STOP IT! For some reason Blue October started attacking me for no reason. Normally they only do that if a monster/Mamoru is in their way, but Blue October was facing straight ahead, and then turned to attack me.
But LOOK at that damage! I have a badass shield, and this thing nearly killed me! The majority of costly player deaths could be blamed on the player's own familiars.

Fortunately, this cures status effects, and restores all MP as well (it was getting a little low, around 20-ish).

Floor 19

Third egg found, second egg in inventory. Seriously...why do I find so many eggs? And I'm not using Truth Glasses on theses, I've been using them on the orbs instead. It's better in the long run.

Floor 20

I fed Kefka a pita Fruit and brought him out, now that Unicorns start showing up all over the place. Blocks will closely follow, so it's good to get Kefka leveled a bit more. Yes, I have two familiars out at once. Kefka on support stays behind me, while Blue October stays by my side and helps attack. Sometimes I use Blue October's Blizzard Sword or Snow Shoot if I need to, but it's mostly Flame Sword.

Floor 21

Not much happened, but I'm liking this combination. A pity we can't really do anything about LaDown's level, because having a powerful Heat Wave would be nice.

Floor 22

Pictured: Mamoru one-shotting a Block using Flame Sword. Remember, these guys murdered Blue October last time, and now they fall in one hit.
I REALLY like this combination.

Floor 23

Once again, not much. Vipers are a bit annoying, simply because they are so powerful and I would need a Wind-Genus monster to take them down. But Blue October still beats them down good enough.

Floor 24

What? Kefka is Evolving? (insert music here)

Congradulations! Your Kefka evolved into DEATH!

"Monster Book" posted:

No. 33 DEATH Habitat: Ravine
An adult CLOWN turns into this shape. Its cruelty does not change, and is feared by travelers. Despite its doll-like appearance, singing a sickle with an expressionless face gives it an eerie aura.

I gotta say though...there's just something cute about the Clown that I prefer over Death. Regardless, Death still looks pretty cool, and actually looks dangerous.

Floor 25

...FUCK! I forgot to check for the White Picket that drops the W. Medal! I kinda flew right past this floor, wanted to get the Healing Herb quickly, because...

Floor 26

"Monster Book" posted:

No. 29 MANDARA Habitat: Ruins
Incredible monsters that attack villages and cities in a group, and then live in the ruins. And yet, they are very territorial. They have their own language, incomprehensible to humans. Spotted patterns on their body can make humans go dizzy and fall over.

Look at that damage. This is what it did to me, including my badass shield. From this point on, hoping to have a powerful enough shield to protect you is pretty much impossible. You won't survive direct combat. You need to have a super-powerful Familiar or two to carry you. I'm starting to consider getting a Wind-monster too, since most floors only have two-elements covered as far as monsters go.

Floor 27

Well, this now makes four eggs, breaking the record for eggs found in the tower in one run. I don't count Selfi's Pulunpa because you find that out of the tower and it's more of an event. Sadly, because that first egg got destroyed, I can only come back with these three eggs. There is one more empty slot for a fourth egg back at the hut.

Floor 28

END OF DAY! KILL COUNT FOR THE DAY!SPECIAL NOTE: Upon getting a better look at the Pulunpa (v2), I have decided to rename it to Pulunpa (Emo), since the black lines could easily be emo hair. Also, I came across a Manoeva (v3) on floor 28, dealing more damage but still producing the same clones. Unfortunately, I accidently deleted the screenshot of this, since all Manoevas look exactly the same.

I...uhh...another U-Boat? Seriously? This makes three. Name our third U-Boat. Voting has reset, so old votes must be recast.

Ooh, a Griffon. Rise is the most powerful Fire-spell, but it still produces the same Flame Sword and isn't any more powerful. If I decide to have it actually cast spells, this will be in handy.

A snowman. Haven't used them before, so I can't say much, but those stats look sweet. DeWall, however, is one of two spells that produces the Blade category of Mixture magics. The water-elemental mixture simply hits twice at melee range, but the Fire one will blind, and the wind one will paralyze. From simple experimenting (without saving, don't worry), the chance for this status effect to happen is either at or near 100%.
Anyway, I'm about to get onto a nice rant here. Let's go to Fur first.

: Oh, it's you Mamoru. What is it today?: I've come to buy. || I've come to sell. || I'm done.It looks like we got an ordinary Dark Sword, instead of the "hidden curse" one, because its price is $10,000 instead of something higher. I still sell it. All my loot sells for $18390 () bringing us to a total of $70823.: Is there anything else I can help you with?: I've come to buy. || I've come to sell. || I'm done.: Thank you.Once again, things end like this. I talk to her again, and the conversation starts the same way as last time.: What? Whaddaya want?: Wanna talk with you. || I don't like you now.: I told you, I don't like you either, Mamoru. I can't stand a man with too much pride who keeps bragging about himself, but I also can't stand a man who's got no pride. I'm talking about our fight the other day. After being told off like that, how could you remain as if nothing's been said?: It's what everyone tells me. || I'm used to it now.Yeah...seriously. Everyone in town is...or rather was, like that to Mamoru.: Huh!?: But... || Just the same...: What?: You made me sad Fur... || Because it was you...

: I'm sorry. I'm sorry.The screenshots don't show it, but her eyes are sparkling. She turns away from Mamoru, I think she might be crying, but if we talk to her some more, we only get "I'm sorry" again.

Alright, now for what's going to happen next update. We have the Healing Herb, so I'm going to give that to Cherrl right away. Blue October and Kefka could probably take us to the top, once they get some levels on their side. But I'm going to be blunt here: I want to use the Snowman, and climb the tower with three monsters, one of each Genus, rotating them out as needed.

I would love to turn this guy into a Wind-monster, and give it another Wind-spell for a raw-damage mixture too. We can fuse a Fusion-bait monster to F-117 (Stealth) to get LoBlind, or to Honky (Noise) to get LoSleep. Both produce the AoE category of Mixture magics. Problem is, I don't know how well this mixture compares to Blue October's summons, other than it costs twice as much MP. Or instead of using the AoE mixtures, we could wait for a wind-spell that produces a Wave mixture instead and then we'd have a powerful long-range mixture I can rely on. (I'm thinking LoGrave, which does raw damage when cast as a spell.)
Either way, the Blade mixture magic from DeWall would be just as cheap as Flame/Blizzard Sword. That won't get leveled up if the Snowman turns into wind-monster, but I'm not using it for the damage, I'm using for the utility of paralyzing monsters and not dying, I just like having the option of having another powerful-mixture magic, and native wind spells will only produce Wave (Long Range) or AoE (costly). The Snowman also looks like it's going to get some pretty nice stat gains too, so it could end up as a powerful offensive monster too (which can get buffed even more with the right Traits).

So, vote for the new names of the three monsters, and let me know how you feel about a wind-Snowman and which wind-spell I should try to give it. Even without it though, I think I could climb to the top pretty soon, maybe within the next ten updates.
Oh, and I'm going to upgrade the Monster Hut again. One spot left and you know that I am apparently blessed by the RNG

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